Last Tuesday, Inter Miami suffered a tough 5–3 loss to Chicago Fire, a result that seriously jeopardized their chances of competing for the 2025 Supporters’ Shield. During the match, speculation arose about a possible argument between Lionel Messi and Javier Mascherano.
In that game at Chase Stadium, the visitors jumped out to a 2–0 lead by the 31st minute of the first half, catching the Herons off guard. In that context, Messi approached the coach and had a brief conversation with him, during which the Argentine forward appeared frustrated.
“I always talk with Leo. They said he was scolding me—people say anything,” Mascherano responded when asked about the rumored conflict during Friday’s press conference, shared by reporter Jose Armando on his X account.
“We were talking about the low block Chicago were using,” clarified the Inter Miami coach. “If you watch the game, after those first two goals, Chicago sat in a very low block, closed the lines, and there was very little space to find passes between the lines.”
Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano.
“There was nothing more to it. It was just a back-and-forth about that, about the space issue, because they had dropped back really well and it was hard for us to find gaps between the lines,” Mascherano added. “It was something I had already noticed and that we tried to adjust at halftime in the locker room.”
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Mascherano apologizes to Lionel Messi and Inter Miami after upsetting loss to Chicago Fire
Inter Miami have no room for error
Having already clinched a playoff berth, Inter Miami have three regular-season games remaining in which they’ll try to collect as many points as possible to pursue two key goals. The first is to finish as high as possible in the Eastern Conference standings, which would benefit them during the postseason.
The second objective is to try to win the Supporters’ Shield for the second straight year—something that now seems very difficult. Philadelphia Union lead the table with 63 points, while the Herons have 56. The advantage for Messi and his teammates is that they still have one more game to play, so they control the ability to cut that deficit to four points.
Even in that scenario, Inter Miami would still need Philadelphia to drop points in both of their remaining matches and win all three of their own. If that happens, the numbers would be enough to clinch the title.
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MLS 2025 TV Schedule USA and Streaming Links
Inter Miami’s remaining matches
In their push to stay in the race through the end of the regular season, the first challenge comes this Saturday. At Chase Stadium, Inter Miami will host New England Revolution. On the following two Saturdays, they’ll close out the season with games against Atlanta United and Nashville SC.
